Pinky Swear
by Melanie Geller
Summary: She is all he has ever wanted. He is all she has ever needed. The pinky swear is the foundation of their relationship. Will the foundation ever crack? My first Mondler fic. Standalone. Very Sad. You've been warned. ;)


A/N: Okay, here is just a sweet Mondler fic. It gets sad though, so I'm warning you. I was gonna write it originally for Ross and Rachel, but it fits Monica and Chandler just soooo much better. You'll see what I mean. I've never written Mondler before, so let me know how I do. This idea has been floating around in my head for the whole day and if I didn't write it down, I would explode, lol. It got on my nerves! So please tell me how this was. :)  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own them but I did actually write the little poems in this! :) And I don't own the song 'I swear' by John Michael Montgomery. :)  
  
Title: Pinky Swear  
  
A small boy hunched over his desk. He was busy at work, composing his latest masterpiece that reflected his hopes and wishes.  
  
Pinky Swear  
  
'You are beautiful  
  
If only you knew  
  
How much I loved your eyes of blue.  
  
The way you smile,  
  
the way you laugh,  
  
I am the arm and you are the staff.  
  
We stand on opposite sides of the tree,  
  
You have your friends and all I have is me.  
  
If only you would talk to me,  
  
I promise you that you would see  
  
How I am meant for you and you are meant for me  
  
You would see how perfect we could be.  
  
And if you do finally come here,  
  
It would be made very clear   
  
That no matter what you do  
  
I would never ever leave you.  
  
No matter what happens, I'll always be there  
  
This much I promise with a pinky swear.'  
  
Dedicated to the girl sitting across from me.  
  
Chandler Bing-1983  
  
He sighed as he looked across his desk in the nearly full classroom. There she was, listening intently to every word the teacher said. She tilted her head to the side, briefly catching a glance at the boy dressed in corduroy pants and a sweater vest.  
  
'I wonder what his name is?' she thought. 'I feel bad for him. It must be hard to be brand new in the middle of the year. Maybe I should go over and talk to him later.' She had a heart of gold, one that no thief could steal. She was motivated by the complete and utter goodness of her heart. Not many people possessed this type of love for mankind. But she did.   
  
The birds chirped in the sky, the clouds drifted high overhead, and the sun was bestowing its rays of light down onto the eighth grade class at Lincoln Middle School. It was lunchtime, the time of day all students anticipated. All students except for one. Chandler Bing. 'It defeats the purpose of social hour if you have no one to socialize with,' he thought somewhat bitterly. 'If only someone would come over here and talk to me, maybe I would have some friends.'  
  
He turned his head towards the sky. There he sat, underneath a tall oak tree. Its branches stretched out around him, leaving him hardly visible sitting underneath them. They were his protectors. Those branches saved him from ever having to become part of the outside world that most of his peers relished being in. He, however, was perfectly content watching the world pass him by, listening to the sounds of people having fun, and watching people. Especially her.   
  
There she sat with her friends, two trees away. Some people might not have thought that she was pretty. But he knew better. She was referred to as 'Fat Monica' by some people, but no one could deny that she was sweet. Because of this, she was blessed with an ample amount of friends. He, however, had none. He wasn't particularly good-looking, yet he wasn't ugly. His mother forced him into wearing hideous clothing, so he wasn't popular. Only the popular kids wore good clothes. He was just quiet. He would rather have someone come up and talk to him, then to have him initiate the act. He went on eating his lunch alone like he did every day for the past three months.  
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
"Monica, what are you staring at?" questioned Monica's best friend Rachel Green.  
  
Monica's head was tilted to the side, looking over at the boy beneath the tree. He looked so lonely.   
  
"Woo-woo! Monica's got a boyfriend!" exclaimed Monica's other good friend, Phoebe.  
  
Monica turned her attention back towards her friends. "I don't have a boyfriend. I was just wondering why he always sits by himself."  
  
"Who?" Phoebe asked.  
  
Monica pointed back towards Chandler. "Him. I don't think he has many friends."  
  
"So?" wondered Rachel, who was fairly popular among their eighth grade class.  
  
"So, I think I should go talk to him."  
  
"What?!" exclaimed Rachel. "Is he new or something?"  
  
"Yeah, kind of," remarked Phoebe, "He came here like three or four months ago. He doesn't talk much. I think his name is Chandler."  
  
Rachel laughed. "Chandler?! Alright, Mon, you go talk to him. Pheebs and I will wait here. Let us know what Chauncy says."  
  
Monica gave a pointed look to Rachel. "Rach, it's not nice to make fun of people. We don't even know him. How would you feel if you had no friends? I think that he might need some. I'm going to go over to talk to him. And, his name is Chandler."  
  
She got up and started walking over towards the grass where Chandler was busy writing something in a blue notebook.  
  
"Hi, I'm Monica Geller. Your name is Chandler, right?"  
  
Her cheerful voice jolted him out of his writing trance he had been encompassed by. He didn't expect anyone to come over and talk to him. Not now, not ever. For the past three and a half months, he had barely spoken five words. And here comes the girl he was practically in love with, just talking to him like he was normal or something.  
  
"Uh, yeah, it's Chandler." He bent back down and continued writing.   
  
"What'cha writing?" she asked, peering over his shoulder.  
  
"Oh, uh, it's nothing." He scooped up his notebook with a swipe.  
  
She had happened to see a few lines of the poem. "You're a really good writer. Is that what you want to be?"  
  
He looked down at the ground. "Sure, I guess so."  
  
"I want to be a chef. I love to cook!" She glanced at him. He didn't seem to be very into this conversation. "So, you're new here, right?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
Those darn one worded answers.  
  
"How come you don't want to talk to me?"  
  
"I do."  
  
"Then talk."  
  
He looked slightly taken aback. "Oh no, I didn't mean it like that. I was just wondering if you don't like me or something," she said with a questioned look on her face.  
  
He blushed a deep shade of magenta. "No, no. I like you very much."  
  
"You do? Then how come you never talk to me? We could be friends, you know."  
  
"But d-don't you a-already ha-have friends?"  
  
"Yeah, but I can always have more."  
  
"Ok."  
  
She smiled. "Are you gonna talk to me or am I gonna have to hit you?"  
  
He grinned. A smile lit up his whole face for the first time since he had moved. Today had been a good day. He had made his first friend. If only she knew that for three months, he had watched her. He had practically worshipped the ground she walked on. For such a popular person, she was very nice and sweet. And Chandler wished she was his. 'Oh well, one step at a time,' he told himself. Things were looking up for him. He had made his first friend.  
  
"Seriously, are we gonna talk?" she asked playfully.  
  
"Yeah," he replied with a smile.   
  
"We can be friends. But, if we're gonna be friends, I need to know something. I have had friends in the past that have betrayed me. I need to know that you'll never do that to me. Do you pinky swear?"  
  
"Do I what?" he asked.  
  
"Do you pinky swear? Y'know..." she interlaced her two pinkies together to form as one. "It keeps promises forever and you mean it with all your heart and soul."  
  
He was bewildered. Never before had he witnessed a phenomenon like this one. "Okay." He held out his pinky to her. She grasped it in hers and gave it a tug.   
  
'What a strange little ritual,' he thought.  
  
But it was just that simple. If he had known that this was what it took to be friends with her, he would've done this 'pinky thing' a long time ago. He had known that the pinky swear existed, but never knew anyone who actually did it. He also knew she held a special place in her heart for the gesture. Months of watching a person will let you in on their little habits.  
  
She smiled at him. "Friends?"  
  
"Sure," he said, the sound of the word sounding so nice to him. "Friends."  
  
-------------------------------1987------------------------------------  
  
"How about this one?" Monica asked Chandler, holding up the nineteenth dress for him to see. It was senior prom, and they were dress shopping. For five years, they had grown closer and closer, until they were inseparable. Monica had lost over eighty pounds, and Chandler made friends with all of Monica's friends and her brother. Life was good. Except...  
  
As he watched her twirl around in a stunning blue dress that accented her curves and ocean blue eyes perfectly, he couldn't help but wonder why they weren't together. After five years of subtle hints, and some not so subtle ones, Chandler and Monica were still not a couple. He wanted to be able to walk down the hall and grab her hand. To be able to kiss her whenever he wanted to. He wanted to be her boyfriend. 'But you're not!' he thought. 'She has Kip. You're just Chandler. Her best friend. But not her boyfriend.'  
  
"Chandler, what do you think?"  
  
"It looks great. Stunning."  
  
She gave him an odd little smile and ruffled the top of his head. "Why are you being so weird?"  
  
He turned red, but didn't say anything. "Mon, prom is tonight, don't you think we'd better buy the dress and go?"  
  
"Yeah," she said, gathering her keys and purse. "Why don't you go take this dress and pay for it with this. I'm gonna change."  
  
He took her things and walked towards the checkout counter. The man saw what he held in his hands. "Wow, that's quite a dress you got there. Is it for your girlfriend?" he wondered.  
  
Chandler looked back at Monica who was leaving the dressing room. If it was possible, it seemed that she got more beautiful every time he saw her. "Yeah," he wished. "My girlfriend."  
  
"Well, then you're one lucky guy. She's quite a catch!" remarked the cashier.  
  
"I know," Chandler said to himself. "She is. I only wish I was the one who caught her..."  
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Chandler sat in the Geller living room. Prom started in two hours, and Monica was going to be picked up in twenty minutes. Ross had been there a few minutes before, but Rachel, who was now his girlfriend, had taken him outside. They were cuddling on the front porch. 'I want that so badly,' he thought.   
  
Twenty more minutes went by, and he hadn't heard anything from upstairs. Judy and Jack had left for a company party, and it was Chandler's job to make sure Monica left okay. He hated that her parents regarded him as an older brother figure, but relished in the chance to spend more time around her. Deciding that he should probably go see if she was ready, he headed upstairs. The sound of suppressed sobs was coming from beyond the wooden door.   
  
He knocked on her door ever so cautiously. "Mon?"  
  
More sobbing.  
  
"Are you okay?"  
  
No answer.  
  
"I'm coming in, okay?"  
  
He pushed open the door to find her curled up in a ball on her light blue bedspread, crying her heart out.  
  
"Mon, what happened?"  
  
"Kip broke up with me! He made a move on Phoebe and Phoebe told me 'cause she thought I'd like to know and then I asked him if it was true and we got into this big fight! And now we're not going to prom together. It's my senior prom!" She looked up at him, mascara smeared, blue eyes watering.   
  
And yet she still looked beautiful to him. She buried her head in the pillow again, her hair cascading in waves around her tear-stained face. It broke Chandler's heart to see her like this. He wished there were something he could do.   
  
'Wait a minute!' he thought. 'I could take her to prom. Then she could see a different side of me! My boyfriend worthy side...'  
  
"Um, Monica?" he began," Maybe I could take you to prom?"  
  
She sniffled. "Chandler, I'm not in the mood for jokes right now. Please don't do this to me. It's hard enough losing my boyfriend, I can't fight with my best friend."  
  
He looked confused. "Mon, I was serious. I know I wasn't planning on going to prom, but for you I would." 'I'd do anything for you,' he thought.  
  
She looked up at him, her mood completely changed. "Really? Thank you so much, Chandler. You can borrow one of Ross's suits. I love you so much!" She got up and went into the bathroom.   
  
He followed her with his eyes. "I love you too. More than you'll ever know."  
  
She was his moon and his stars in the sky. He'd always be there. She just didn't know it yet.   
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
Monica ended up having a wonderful prom night. They danced all the dances and she was blissfully happy. He was too, just being in her presence as something more than a friend. He was still her best friend, but wanted to be more.   
  
She nestled her head in his shoulders as a slow song came on. She sighed and so did he. Maybe it was time to tell her how he felt.   
  
After prom was over, he told her they needed to go to his house for a few minutes. His excuse was that he needed to show her something, but all he wanted to do was talk to her without having Ross and Rachel in the room.   
  
Once they arrived at Chandler's house, Monica felt a little nervous. 'What does he want to show me?' she wondered apprehensively.  
  
She ambled aimlessly around his bedroom, tracing the patterns on his bedspread with her pinky finger. He had gone downstairs in order to find something that would pass as being magnificent enough to show her because he brought her all this way for nothing. As he was downstairs, she was beginning to get antsy upstairs.  
  
The walls in his room were a familiar blue, and his bedspread matched the shade. She had been in his room a million times before. She glanced over at his desk which contained his writing. "Ah, the sacred writing," she said aloud. "Let's see what he's working on right now."  
  
He had never allowed anyone to go through his desk, and now Monica could see why. It was a mess, and if it was touched by the hands of anyone but the owner, something was bound to get lost. She tried to suppress her urge to straighten up, but it wasn't working. "I'll just straighten up a little bit. Maybe I'll just move these papers away. Oops!"  
  
A blue notebook fell to the ground. It was labeled 'Poems'. With the feeling a young child gets when they steal a cookie from the cookie jar, she opened the book that had been withheld from all eyes but his.  
  
The first poem dated back to 1983.   
  
' Evanescent  
  
Here I am this is me  
  
But nobody can see  
  
That I am here  
  
I cannot be found  
  
Would anyone care if I wasn't around?  
  
Maybe one day I should see  
  
If anyone here would actually miss me.'  
  
She gasped. It was horrible! At thirteen, Chandler had considered killing himself! They were best friends, yet somehow she knew that all his secrets he has kept over the years lied in this book in the form of poetry.  
  
In the next ten minutes, she learned many more things about Chandler. She laughed, she cried; taking a walk in his shoes was like riding an emotional roller coaster. It was then that she stumbled upon a poem titled 'Pinky Swear'. She looked amused as she read the title, but as she finished the poem, she was stunned. The poem was about her.   
  
Chandler entered the room. "Okay, here it is! This is what I wanted to show you. You see, its a-"   
  
He noticed the expression on her face. "Are you okay, Mon?"   
  
A small blue notebook fell out of her hands. "Oh my God," he said quietly.  
  
"You are in love with me?" she asked him.  
  
He dropped to his knees and sat against the wall. She repeated the phrase. "You are in love with me?"  
  
Chandler looked up at her. It was now or never. "Yes, I am. Ever since the eighth grade I've been in love with you. Ever since I first layed eyes on you I felt I've loved you. I can understand if this will change our friendship, and that's fine. I need to be with you, Monica. You are my soul mate, my best friend. If you don't want to see me anymore, I understand."  
  
Her eyes began to water. "All these years...You never told me. Chandler..."  
  
She walked over to him and sat down on the floor next to him. She stared into his eyes for the longest time. They had been best friends and shared a bond like no other. Their friendship was one that needed no words.   
  
Blue eyes gazed upon blue as they both started to let tears fall.   
  
"I'm sorry, Mon. I never meant to hurt you."  
  
"You haven't hurt me, Chandler. You are my best friend, and I love you. Did you really mean what you wrote in the poem? You were only thirteen."  
  
"I meant every word and mean them even more now," he said quietly.  
  
She grabbed his hand, and interlaced his fingers with hers. "Maybe we can give it a try then."  
  
"What?"  
  
"We could see where it goes."  
  
"Are you serious?" All of his dreams were becoming a reality.  
  
She smiled. "Yes I'm serious. Under one condition though."  
  
He smiled, knowing where she was going. "What might that be?"  
  
"Do you pinky swear to never ever hurt me?"  
  
He extended his pinky towards hers. "With all my heart and soul."  
  
With that, Monica kissed his pinky and cupped his face in her hand. "Me too."   
  
And then they had their first kiss, pinkies intertwined the whole time.  
  
------------------------------1990------------------------------------  
  
"Monica, don't worry, you look fine," reassured Rachel.   
  
"Yeah, you look gorgeous. White suits you well." contributed Phoebe.  
  
Monica paced back and forth across the room. "What if we get divorced? You know, four out of seven marriages end with a divorce. What if he cheats on me? What if I cheat on him?"  
  
Rachel looked amused. "Mon, sweetie, calm down. It's your wedding day, you're bound to be nervous. I know I was when I married Ross, but look at how wonderful everything is now." She reached down to rub her pregnant belly. "You just wait, you're going to love it."  
  
"And I really don't think you guys will have any trouble staying together," added Phoebe. "You are so perfect for one another!"  
  
"I just don't know why I can't see him before the wedding starts. I need to do something."  
  
Rachel smiled at her. "Sorry, rules are rules."   
  
Monica rolled her eyes. "Fine, but I have to go to the bathroom. I'll be right back."  
  
She exited the room, carrying the train of her wedding dress behind her. Upon entering the bathroom, she saw exactly what she had hoped for. A window. Lifting the latch, she slowly slid the window up and looked down. There was no jump, so she slid out carefully. She noticed a shape sitting down on a swing in the park across the street. It was a familiar shape, the shape of her best friend and soul mate. It was Chandler.  
  
Crossing the street, she ran over to the swing. Breathlessly, she began to talk. "I know I'm not supposed to see you before the wedding, but I had to. I had to make sure you're not having any second thoughts."  
  
He looked up at her and smiled. A piece of her hair was flung across her face, and her lipstick was wearing off because she kept gnawing on her bottom lip. "Second thoughts? Never."  
  
He took her hand in his. "I love you, Monica. I will never leave you. Ever. This is going to be wonderful, you'll see. I pinky swear."  
  
A tear fell from her eye. "I'm sorry I ever doubted you, Chandler."   
  
"It's okay. Even the best of us have doubts sometimes. And you are definitely the best." He kissed her passionately on the lips. "But I'm not supposed to be seeing you right now, and Joey and Ross would kill me if they knew we were here. So let's get you back inside. It's time to get married!"  
  
As they walked back across the street, his pinky finger found hers and for a moment they both felt the fear in them subside.   
  
'I see the questions in your eyes  
  
I know what's weighing on your mind  
  
But you can be sure I know my part  
  
'cause I'll stand beside you through the years  
  
You'll only cry those happy tears  
  
And though I'll make mistakes  
  
I'll never break your heart  
  
I swear  
  
By the moon and stars in the sky  
  
I'll be there  
  
I swear  
  
Like the shadow that's by your side  
  
I'll be there  
  
For better or worse  
  
Till death do us part  
  
I'll love you with every beat of my heart  
  
I swear  
  
I'll give you everything I can  
  
I'll build your dreams with these two hands  
  
We'll hang some memories on the wall  
  
And when there's silver in your hair  
  
You won't have to ask if I still care  
  
'cause as time turns the page  
  
My love won't age at all  
  
I swear  
  
By the moon and stars in the sky  
  
I'll be there  
  
I swear  
  
Like the shadow that's by your side  
  
I'll be there  
  
For better or worse  
  
Till death do us part  
  
I'll love you with every beat of my heart  
  
I swear  
  
I swear  
  
By the moon and stars in the sky  
  
I'll be there  
  
I swear  
  
Like the shadow that's by your side  
  
I'll be there  
  
For better or worse  
  
Till death do us part  
  
I'll love you with every beat of my heart  
  
I swear  
  
I swear'  
  
---------------------------------1995---------------------------------  
  
"C'mon, Monica, you can do it! Just take a deep breath!"  
  
Her face was red and flushed with exhaustion. "I can't Chandler! I can't!"  
  
The doctor was beginning to look worried. "Mr. Bing, may I see you in the hall for a minute?"  
  
"I'll be back in a second, Mon. I promise." Amidst her extreme exhaustion, she was able to lift her pinky. He reached for it and gave it a slight squeeze.  
  
Once in the hall, the doctor delivered some disturbing news. "Mr. Bing, something is wrong. She has been in labor for over three days, and her heartbeat is irregular. We have given her every possible medicine, and she is in the ICU. Things aren't looking good."  
  
"S-so what are you saying? She's not going to make it?"  
  
The doctor looked down and talked quietly. "Its either her or the baby. If she goes through with the birth, it will be too physically straining on her heart. We can perform an operation to get the baby out safely, but only one in five people survive. She will be okay if we proceed to an immediate abortion, but other than that, you're going to have to talk to her."  
  
"So you mean I have to ask my wife if she wants her baby to live or if she wants to live? That's not fair, surely something..."  
  
"I'm afraid so. At this point, there is nothing we can do. Its a very serious situation. I'm truly sorry it had to come to this."  
  
"You can't do this. We have our life planned out- We just moved- This isn't happening!" he exclaimed frantically.  
  
"Go talk to her."  
  
Chandler pushed his way back through the door, shaking at the thought of what he had to do.   
  
"Hey, honey. I need to talk to you."  
  
She grimaced. Her hair was matted down against her head and her eyes were filled with tears. Her breaths came in ragged, uneven, strokes. She managed to work out one word. "Okay."  
  
His eyes filled with tears as he held her hand and smoothed her hair out from her face. Life was so unfair and cruel. The one thing that she wanted, the one thing that they wanted, was about to be taken away from them. It was as if God was toying with them, trying to see how close to the edge of the cliff He could push them until they finally decided to jump off down to the ravaging waters below.   
  
He couldn't do it. It wasn't possible. No man should be put in this position. No man should have to tell his wife that she has to choose between her life and the life of her unborn child's. And yet, he had to. He took a deep breath and began.  
  
"Baby, I have to tell you something."  
  
She noticed the tremor in his voice. Barely able to work the words out, she asked, "W-w-what i-is it?"  
  
He gulped and swallowed his pain. "There's something wrong with the baby. It's not going to be alright. I'm so sorry, honey."  
  
Her tears began to fall. She had wanted this baby so badly, and after two miscarriages, countless health problems, and five years of marriage, they had finally gotten what they wanted. "Is there anything they can do?"  
  
He shook his head. "No sweetie, there's not. The doctor said that in order for you to be okay, the baby wouldn't be."  
  
She considered his words very carefully. Slowly, she uttered the words that terrified him to his very core. "Wh-what about if I'm n-n-not okay? What if t-the baby cou-could live? I can't do this t-to my child, Chandler. I-I j-just can't!"  
  
His tears fell freely. "Honey, I know you love the baby, but I can't let you do this. Not to yourself. Not to us."  
  
She began to steady herself. "Chandler, I have to. I couldn't live k-knowing that my b-baby died and I co-could have prevented it. I just couldn't. Between myself and my child, I choose my child."  
  
Sobs ravaged his body at the power of her words. "Mon, you're really going to do this? You can't! Oh my God! I love you so much, baby. More than you'll ever know."  
  
"I can't believe I'm doing this either. But I can't let my baby die. I-I just can't. You ha-have to p-promise me something though, C-Chandler."  
  
Between his sobbing, he was able to tell her the word that she wanted to hear. The word she needed to hear. "What?"  
  
Taking a deep breath, she began. "Tell our daughter about m-me. Tell her e-everything. Don't let a-a day go by without telling her how much I loved her. Don't l-let a day go by without telling her how much you love her. Cherish every second you have. Don't ever forget me. Marry again. I want you to be happy. It will make me happy. Do you promise me that?"  
  
He was shaking, his body was trembling. This couldn't be happening, it had to be a dream. "Yes, I promise."  
  
She lifted her pinky finger and laced it with his. He bent down to kiss her on the forehead, and then on her lips. "I will always love you, Mon. I have since the eighth grade, and it grows stronger each and every day and it will years from now. Now I need you to promise me something."  
  
She looked into his blue eyes that were pained with sorrow and agony. He was losing his soul mate, his best friend, and it was all her fault. "Anything."  
  
"Wait for me when you get there."  
  
She smiled weakly and grasped his hand, not wanting to let go of this moment. "Of course."  
  
The doctor entered the room. He pulled Chandler aside. "Have you made a decision?"  
  
Chandler nodded and looked down. "We're going to have this baby."  
  
"But you do realize that..."  
  
"Yes, we do."  
  
The doctor sighed. "Alright. This isn't going to be easy. We need to do this now. If you'd like, you can be present."  
  
"Absolutely." When his wife took her last breath, the least he could do was hold her hand and be there for her.  
  
He turned towards Monica. "Honey, its time."  
  
She grabbed his hand and he held on to it with all his might. He studied her face, wanting to capture every aspect of this moment and paint it as a timeless portrait in his mind so he could always remember it. Her breathing had become slower now. The doctors were operating on her, trying to get the baby out. With every cut they made, she screamed out in pain. She was crying out at the agony she was in, and he was screaming with her. The heart monitor showed her heart rate was speeding up irregularly.   
  
Her hands were making imprints into his now. With each sharp intake of pain she experienced, Chandler felt the brunt of it, and was marked by her fingernails digging into his hand. She looked into his eyes and smiled as she heard a cry fill the room. "You're a daddy now."  
  
He kissed her on the lips. "And you've just become a mommy."  
  
The doctors placed the newborn infant on Monica's heaving chest. "Congratulations. Does she have a name?"  
  
Chandler looked down at Monica who was barely breathing but gazing as fondly as she was able to upon her daughter. "Hope. Name her Hope," she managed to say.  
  
His gaze fixated on his family. They were a family. Monica smiled, tears running down her cheeks, as Hope grabbed her pinky finger. "L-look what sh-she did!"  
  
"She probably learned it from you," remarked Chandler.  
  
"I can't believe it. I'm a mother."  
  
Chandler bent down and kissed her tenderly on the lips. "I love you, Monica."  
  
"I love you too, Chandler." She looked from Hope who had a firm grasp on her left pinky finger to Chandler who was holding onto her right one. "I love you both."  
  
She closed her eyes and took her final breath, leaving this world behind.  
  
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Chandler looked down at his sleeping daughter's face. Now that Monica was gone, she was the only thing that kept him living. The past three months had been a living Hell, but having Hope around made it seem like a tiny ray of Heaven was shining down.  
  
He gazed up at the sky, surprised to see that Hope was awake and grasping his pinky finger. He knew that as each day passed, she grew more like Monica in every possible way. He would be sure to teach her all the wisdom that Monica imparted on him. Every day, he told the infant how her mother gave her life so she could be born, and how much she had loved her.   
  
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"Daddy, do you swear you won't let go?" a five year old Hope asked her father.  
  
He laughed. "I'm sure. I told you that I wasn't going to let go of the bike until you were ready."  
  
It was her fifth birthday, and the black haired, blue eyed little beauty was identical to her mother. It was the anniversary of the saddest and happiest day in his life.   
  
He had given Hope a brand new bike for her birthday, a two wheeler. At first, she was frightened at the possibility of her father letting go of the bike.   
  
In a tiny voice, Hope looked up at her father. "Do you think Mommy would be proud of me?"  
  
Chandler smiled as a few tears sprung to his eyes. "Yes sweetie, Mommy loves you so much and is so very proud of you right now."  
  
"But how do we know?"  
  
Chandler looked up at the sky in time to see a rainbow appear. He took her hand and pointed towards the sky. "You see that? That's how we know. And when you smell the flowers, she's there smelling them with you. Whenever you're bad, I know she's watching you, but always with a little smile because she loves it when you are mischievous. And whenever you make a promise, she will always be there to make sure you keep it."  
  
"Daddy, what's a promise?"  
  
He took her pinky finger in her hand, crossed it with his own, and placed it on her heart. "This is a promise. A pinky swear. Its when someone asks you to do something and you agree to do what they ask because you love them so much. Whenever you pinky swear, you have to mean it with all your heart."  
  
She looked up at him with her wide, innocent blue eyes. "Did Mommy ever ask you to promise her anything?"  
  
Chandler let out a hearty laugh. "Yes she did, Pumpkin. Your Mommy was the queen of pinky swears. In fact, she was the one who taught me how to do them and accept what happens when you promise someone something."  
  
"Did you keep those promises?"  
  
He looked up towards the sky and then down at his little girl, tears welling in his eyes. "I sure did."  
  
Hope tugged at her daddy's shirt impatiently. "Daddy, why are you crying? Are you sad?"  
  
Smiling down at her, he said, "No sugar. I'm not sad. I'm very happy. I have my little princess here with me." He scooped her up in one arm.   
  
"Don't you miss Mommy?"  
  
"Yeah, I miss her so much my heart aches. But she is happy, I know she is. Every day she watches us and she loves you very much." He looked towards the sky. "And I know I'll see her again one day."  
  
"Will I?"  
  
"Of course you will, Sweetie."  
  
She held out her pinky. "Do you pinky swear?"  
  
He smiled and reached for it with his pinky. "With all my heart and soul."  
  
Lol, okay that was really cheesy but I had this idea and all day long, it went in my head and I swear to you it would NOT leave. So, naturally, I had to write about it. Let me know what you think. If it was horrible, be kind. It was my first Mondler story. :) Should I ever write another one again? Oh, and Chapter Five of Love At first Sight should be up sometime this week. Please Review and Happy Holidays! :)  
  
Mel 


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